Nokia Siemens Networks will Supply Equipments to Indian Railways

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has won a Rs2bn ($35.96m) contract from Indian Railways to supply train network equipment.

NSN, a joint venture between Nokia and Siemens, will install the equipment across five zones, spanning 3,500km of railway network, to allow mobile communication between trains and railway regulation control centres.

Installation of the equipment is expected to enhance communication with trains passing through tunnels, ensuring better security in emergency situations, according to the Economic Times.

NSN’s Chennai plant in India is building equipment for the railways, while handsets and allied solutions are being supplied by third-party vendors in Austria and China.

In May 2012, NSN won a contract from Indian Rail to install the global system for mobile communications – railway (GSM-R) infrastructure on the Kolkata metro line.

Under the deal, NSN will supply its compact, energy-efficient flexi base stations and flexi base station controllers in an effort to help improve capacity.

The company will also provide all operational components, including switching centres, intelligent network (IN) platforms, service and management platforms, controller data transmission elements and mobile handsets for drivers.

The deployment of GSM-R infrastructure is expected to improve safety and reliability of the metro line, while reducing operational costs for Indian Railways.

In July 2011, Indian Railways Project Management Unit (IRPMU), a unit of Indian Rail, had selected Tadiran Telecom to provide an advanced and modified version of its Coral IPx integrative communication solution.

The communication system will enhance Indian Rail’s communications between the hub and stations and increase the flow of critical information for the safety and security of passengers.